Dembska murder suspect Abner Aquilina under medical observation ahead of charges

The murder suspect in the killing of Polish woman Paulina Dembska, 29, has not yet been charged while he is kept under observation for a mental health assessment.

The suspect is 20-year-old Abner Aquilina, from Zejtun.

Police have not named the suspect but in a statement released on Monday said that shortly after his arrest he was taken to Mater Dei Hospital for a check up. Doctors at Mater Dei then referred the man to Mount Carmel Hospital.

"At this stage the police had to suspend its interrogation of the suspect," the statement said.

Paulina Dembska, 29, lived in Sliema and would often feed the cats in Independence Gardens where she was found dead

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Meanwhile, police have confirmed the identity of the victim as that of Paulina Dembska. She was murdered at Sliema’s Independence Garden early on Sunday, 2 January – the first femicide of the year.

Her lifeless body was found just below the popular promenade by a passer-by just before 6:30am.

The police said that Dembska was living in a Sliema hostel and was here as a student.

Dembska, a frequent visitor to the gardens where she fed the cat colony, had signs of violence around her head and on her chest.

The Sliema resident was a former Warsaw University student and on her Facebook page had shared glowing comments about Malta. She lived in Sliema and pictures uploaded show her close to the site where she was eventually found dead.

The murder suspect was picked up by police outside the Carmelite parish church after raising a commotion inside the church, going up to the altar, overturning chairs and allegedly making threats before some men pulled him out and called the police. 

The Women’s Rights Foundation said Dembska had suffered one of the most brutal forms of gender-based violence.

“There is no way of putting it any other way – the cause of her demise, and those of others before her, is men. We can talk about laws, we can introduce new and tougher punishments, but until we deal with the root cause, we are a far cry from ensuring that women will not be abused and killed on account of their gender.

“We need to stop dealing with symptoms and deal with the source of this plague. We need to talk about abuse perpetrated by men and inherent inequality and work to eradicate it. Then and only then we can talk about meaningful change.”

A vigil will be held on 4 January 2022 at 6pm at Exiles, Sliema.

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